Gates 14:00, “We need microformats”

If you happen to tune into the Mix ’06 keynote, at around the 14 minute mark, Bill does indeed refer to something that, gee, goes by “microformat” in more savvy circles. And then later on, said:

We need microformats and to get people to agree on them. It is going to bootstrap exchanging data on the Webâ€¦

â€¦we need them for things like contact cards, events, directionsâ€¦

So if you’ve been playing along at home, welcome to the future kids. Microsoft is waking up, is back in the game and ready to deliver some serious innovation. Can open source continue its onslaught against the once great software juggernaut or will it continue to stutter in areas like user experience, graphics technology and hell, its exclusive, elite, Eurogeekwhitetrash bourgeoisie culture that keeps girls (and other minorities) out? (And yes, the speaker acknowledges his privilege as an educated white male.)

One thing is for sure — it’s shaping up to be a very interesting time in the browser space after all.

So, “Gates: 14:00” is a joke, like “Austin 3:16”. The 14:00 refers to the timestamp in the keynote in which Gates refers to abstractly to microformats. It has nothing do with timezones, 24-hour clocks or anything else! 😛